Range System

ABSTRACT

An archery target having a target frame having an open front side, a bottom side, right and left sides and a back side. The open front has a pair of flanges adjacent the right and left sides, with a foam front face is made of at least two foam front face blocks which slide onto the pair of flanges. Each foam face block can be selectively rotated and arranged in the foam front face.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/743,666, filed Oct. 10, 2018, the entire contents ofwhich are herein incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH

Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

There is a need for an archery range target which allows parts of thetarget to be moved from areas that are infrequently hit to areas whichare frequently hit. This is because the better the archer, the more themiddle of the target is hit.

Without limiting the scope of the invention a brief summary of some ofthe claimed embodiments of the invention is set forth below. Additionaldetails of the summarized embodiments of the invention and/or additionalembodiments of the invention may be found in the Detailed Description ofthe Invention, below.

A brief abstract of the technical disclosure in the specification isprovided as well only for the purposes of complying with 37 C.F.R. 1.72.The abstract is not intended to be used for interpreting the scope ofthe claims.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention provides a range system which has the ability toindependently replace and/or rotate foam face sections as needed.

A first embodiment provides a target frame with an open front side,base, sides, back and top sections. The open front has flanges on eitherside upon which foam face blocks can slide onto. Each foam face piecehas a tongue section and a groove section, so the pieces fit together tomake a full foam front face piece, upon which a target can be attached.

Each foam piece is 12 inches tall, 48 inches wide and 4 inches thick.The target can be two foam pieces high (24 inches by 48 inches) or fourfoam pieces high (48 inches by 48 inches). A smaller target can be sizedto use foam pieces which are 12 inches tall, 24 inches wide and 4 inchesthick to provide a target which is 24 inches by 24 inches.

The target frame is make of ½ inch plywood and the target is filled witha bag target made up of layered cotton rags and sweatshirts. The bagtarget is secured inside the target frame using mesh netting. The meshnetting is covered with a woven poly cover. The lid can be removable toallow changing out the bag target, and can be attached to the targetframe with a Velcro strap.

In a second embodiment, the invention is an archery target having atarget frame having a bottom side and right and left sides forming atleast one channel, with a plurality of foam blocks arranged into atleast one stacked layer which are arranged in the at least one channel.Each foam block can be selectively rotated and arranged in the at leastone stacked layer.

The plurality of foam blocks can be arranged into two stacked layerswhich are arranged in two channels, or could be arranged into threestacked layers which are arranged in three channels, or four layersarranged in four channels.

The archery target could further include a bag target placed behind thestacked layer(s) of foam blocks. The target could also include meshwhich is attached to the front of the target.

The archery target could also include a lid, which could be attached tothe target using either Velcro or which could be attached to atightening mechanism, used to securely hold the lid down to hold thefoam blocks in place.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the invention, with a plywood targetframe, bag target secured behind mesh netting, and with a groove andtongue foam target face made up of a plurality of individual pieces.

FIG. 2 shows the flanges on either side of the front face of the targetframe, and how the foam pieces slide onto the flanges to attach to thetarget frame.

FIG. 3 shows a foam face block.

FIG. 4 shows a closer view of the tongue and groove of a foam faceblock.

FIG. 5 shows a foam face block sliding onto the flanges of the targetframe.

FIG. 6 shows a foam face block slid to the bottom of the target frame.

FIG. 7 shows a closer view of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows a second foam face block sliding onto the flanges of thetarget frame.

FIG. 9 shows the bag target, secured with mesh netting.

FIG. 10 shows the woven poly cover which covers the mesh netting.

FIG. 11 shows the Velcro straps which attach the lid to the targetframe, so the bag target can be replaced.

FIG. 12 shows the side and top of the target frame.

FIG. 13 shows the top and back of the target frame.

FIG. 14 shows a second embodiment of the invention, showing a pluralityof channels for holding stacked layers of foam blocks.

FIG. 15 shows the second embodiment completely filled with stackedlayers of foam blocks.

FIG. 16 shows the base plate and framework for the channels of thesecond embodiment.

FIG. 17 shows a top view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 18 shows another top view of the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 shows the lid.

FIG. 20 shows a tightening mechanism.

FIG. 21 shows the tightening bolt.

FIG. 22 shows the tightening cable/string.

FIG. 23 shows a locking pin.

FIG. 24 shows the front of the target with the locking pin in place.

FIG. 25 shows the bag attached to two layers of foam blocks.

FIG. 26 shows the front of the target with a layer of foam blocks and abag target.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a first embodiment of the invention is showngenerally at 10, with a plywood target frame 11, a bag target 30 securedbehind mesh netting 36, and with a groove and tongue foam target face,shown generally at 34, made up of a plurality of individual pieces 12.The embodiment shown has four foam pieces 12, to make a target which is24 inches deep and 48 inches tall by 48 inches wide. Other variationscould be made with two foam pieces 12, for a target 48 inches wide, by24 inches tall by 24 inches deep, or a smaller target could be made with24 inch wide foam pieces, to make a target 24 inches wide, by 24 incheshigh by 24 inches deep. Any desired number of foam pieces 12 could beutilized, if a bigger target was desired, more foam pieces could bestacked on top.

Referring to FIG. 2, the open front face of the target frame 11 hasflanges 13 on either side. Each foam piece 12 has slits 15 which slideonto the flange, which in this embodiment is 1/16 inch deep.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, a foam face block 12 is shown in moredetail. Each foam face block 12 has a tongue 17 and a groove 19, so thatthe foam face block pieces 12 fit together.

FIG. 5 shows a foam face block 12 being slid onto the flanges 13, toattach it to the target frame 11.

FIGS. 6 and 7 shows the foam face block slide to the bottom of flanges13, to form the bottom piece of the target face 34. The sides of thetarget frame are shown at 21. shows the flanges on either side of thefront face of the target frame, and how the foam pieces slide onto theflanges to attach to the target frame.

FIG. 8 shows a second foam face block 12 sliding onto the flanges of thetarget frame.

FIG. 9 shows the bag target 30, which is made up of layered cotton ragsand sweatshirts. The bag target 30 is held in place with mesh netting36, which is attached to the target frame 11.

FIG. 10 shows a piece of woven poly cover 38 which covers the meshnetting 36.

FIG. 11 shows the Velcro straps 40 which can secure the lid to thetarget frame. The lid can be removed or lifted to allow the bag targetto be replaced.

FIG. 12 shows the side 21 and top of the target frame 23

FIG. 13 shows the top 23 and back 25 of the target frame 11.

The target frame 11 is make of ½ inch plywood and the target is filledwith a bag target 30 made up of layered cotton rags and sweatshirts. Thebag target is secured inside the target frame using mesh netting 36. Themesh netting is covered with a woven poly cover 38. The lid 23 can beremovable to allow changing out the bag target 30, and can be attachedto the target frame with Velcro straps 40.

FIG. 14 shows a second embodiment of the invention, showing a pluralityof channels for holding stacked layers of foam blocks 12, with threestacked layers being shown. This embodiment could be made with anynumber of stacked layers, from two to four layers. FIG. 14 shows threelayers of stacked foam blocks 12, contained by channels attached to abase plate. As each foam block is damaged by arrows, it can be rotatedback to a different layer or a different spot in the front layer, tomaximize the life of the target by using all the foam blocks equally.

FIG. 15 shows the second embodiment completely filled with stackedlayers of foam blocks 12. Because each block can be moved independently,they can be used to replace and/or rotate each foam block as needed.

FIGS. 16-18 shows the base plate 14 and framework for the channels 16,18 and 20 of the second embodiment although the invention could beformed with two or four channels if desired. The vertical channels arewhat holds the rectangular foam blocks 12 in position.

Referring now to FIGS. 19-26, the target has a lid 24 that is attachedto a tightening mechanism 22. To tighten the lid you simply turn a Bolton the front of the frame. The tightening bolt has a pin 28 that can beslid in a pin hole to keep the foam blocks in place. An alternativeembodiment can eliminate the tightening mechanism and simply attach thelid using Velcro. The EYE hooks 22 in the lid 24 are connected to thetightening cable/String 26. The other end of the string is connected toa tightening rod that will turn to tighten. Once the cables are at thedesired tightness a locking pin 28 is then put in place to hold the lidtight to hold the blocks 12 in place.

The second embodiment of the inventive range system could be configuredin several different ways.

1.) A Front layer of Rectangular Foam Blocks with a Bag Style Target inthe back half of the system. This could be in multiple sizes of24w×24h×16d, 24w×48h×16d and 48w×48h×16d.

2.) A system with 2 layers of foam with the back section consisting ofthe bag style target. This would be same sizes as above.

3.) A system of 3 layers of Rectangular Foam and no bag style. Same 3sizes.

4.) A system with 4 layers of Rectangular Foam and no bag style. Same 3sizes.

5.) The Rectangular Foam sections are 4″×4″×23″ in length, although theycould be any desired size.

The bag target is replaceable also.

The target could also have a mesh option to be attached by Velcro to thefront of the target. The target, as commercially sold, will also have asolid trim over the front frame work to finish off the target.

FIG. 25 shows that the bag 30 is attached using straps 32.

The above disclosure is intended to be illustrative and not exhaustive.This description will suggest many variations and alternatives to one ofordinary skill in this field of art. All these alternatives andvariations are intended to be included within the scope of the claimswhere the term “comprising” means “including, but not limited to.” Thosefamiliar with the art may recognize other equivalents to the specificembodiments described herein which equivalents are also intended to beencompassed by the claims.

Further, the particular features presented in the dependent claims canbe combined with each other in other manners within the scope of theinvention such that the invention should be recognized as alsospecifically directed to other embodiments having any other possiblecombination of the features of the dependent claims. For instance, forpurposes of claim publication, any dependent claim which follows shouldbe taken as alternatively written in a multiple dependent form from allprior claims which possess all antecedents referenced in such dependentclaim if such multiple dependent format is an accepted format within thejurisdiction (e.g. each claim depending directly from claim 1 should bealternatively taken as depending from all previous claims). Injurisdictions where multiple dependent claim formats are restricted, thefollowing dependent claims should each be also taken as alternativelywritten in each singly dependent claim format which creates a dependencyfrom a prior antecedent-possessing claim other than the specific claimlisted in such dependent claim below.

This completes the description of the preferred and alternateembodiments of the invention. Those skilled in the art may recognizeother equivalents to the specific embodiment described herein whichequivalents are intended to be encompassed by the claims attachedhereto.

What is claimed is:
 1. An archery target comprising: a target framehaving an open front side, a bottom side, right and left sides and aback side; the open front has a pair of flanges adjacent the right andleft sides; a foam front face is made of at least two foam front faceblocks which slide onto the pair of flanges, whereby each foam faceblock can be selectively rotated and arranged in the foam front face. 2.The archery target of claim 2 wherein each foam front face block has atop side and a bottom side, with the top side having a tongue and thebottom side having a groove, with the tongue of a first foam blocksection fitting into the groove on the bottom side of a second foamblock section.
 3. The archery target of claim 2 further including a bagtarget which fits into the target frame and is secured with mesh nettingcovering the open front face.
 4. The archery target of claim 3 whereinthe bag target is make of layers of cotton rags and sweatshirts.
 5. Thearchery target of claim 3 further including a woven poly cover piecewhich covers the mesh netting.
 6. An archery target comprising: a targetframe having a bottom side and right and left sides forming at least onechannel; a plurality of foam blocks arranged into at least one stackedlayer which are arranged in the at least one channel; whereby each foamblock can be selectively rotated and arranged in the at least onestacked layer.
 7. The archery target of claim 6 wherein the plurality offoam blocks are arranged into two stacked layers which are arranged intwo channels.
 8. The archery target of claim 6 wherein the plurality offoam blocks are arranged into three stacked layers which are arranged inthree channels.
 9. The archery target of claim 6 wherein the pluralityof foam blocks are arranged into four stacked layers which are arrangedin four channels.
 10. The archery target of claim 6 further including abag target placed behind the at least one stacked layer of foam blocks.11. The archery target of claim 10 further including mesh which isattached to the front of the target.
 12. The archery target of claim 6further including a lid, wherein the lid can be attached to the targetframe by Velcro.
 13. The archery target of claim 6 including a lid,wherein the lid can be attached to a tightening mechanism.
 14. Thearchery target of claim 13 wherein the tightening mechanism holds thelid down to keep the foam blocks in place.
 15. The archery target ofclaim 6 further including a foam target face attached to the target.